Bump In the Night

Ben & Liana

Waking in the night, Ben was instantly alert. He'd always been a light sleeper, a handy trait in his line of work. More than once, it had saved him from being killed by men who'd been reluctant to split the take with anyone else.

He lay still for a moment, focusing his mind and energy, and waiting for whatever sound, smell, or other sensation had pulled him out of sleep to repeat itself. There was nothing.

His eyes moved to Liana. She slept in his arms, just as she had every night since they'd come here. A slight frown creased her brow, as though she were aware of something too. As he watched, she opened her eyes to look into his.

His gaze warned her to remain silent and, reading his look, she did. Moving one hand slowly, he reached for the gun he kept by the bed at night. "Stay here, darlin'," he whispered to Liana. Her expression somewhat fearful, she did, watching Ben closely as he moved.

First, he checked the bathroom, which was near his side of the bed. Finding nothing there, he motioned to Liana. "Go in there, lock the door behind you, and stay until I tell you to come out." Ben saw the argument in her eyes, but he didn't have time for it. He put his hand on her cheek briefly. "Just do as I tell you."

When she was safely behind the door and he heard the lock click, Ben went quietly to the door of his study, A brief sweep of it told him nothing was wrong and no one was there.

His gun at the ready, he worked his way downstairs and searched the rooms silently and methodically. He knew that it wasn't Dan. Both Ben and Liana had grown used to Dan's presence in the house since he'd moved in with them. Ben was used to his movements and sounds. Besides, Dan was in Sydney for a couple of days.

He searched the basement and, again, finding nothing, he went back up to the kitchen. The locks on the doors had already been checked, but Ben checked the kitchen door again. Nothing. But something had disturbed him. These things were instinct with him and he was never wrong. Still on the alert, he went back upstairs to Liana.

She came out of the bathroom, her eyes questioning. "Ben. What-?"

"There's nothing there, sweetheart."

"But there was." It wasn't a question. Liana, too, had felt something out of place. Being with Ben had heightened her senses and made her more aware of things.

"Yes." He didn't try to give her any false sense of security. She was stronger than that. "And I intend to find out what." He held her for a moment, one hand stroking her hair, the other gripping his gun tightly.

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Charlie Prince made it halfway back to his own house before he relaxed a little. It had been a real risk, going into the boss' house. But it had been necessary, so that he could find out from Mrs. Wade's appointment book where she might be going alone in the next few weeks. He could have sent someone else, but he'd felt he stood a better chance of explaining his presence there, if he'd been caught.

The risk had been worth it, though. Charlie grinned to himself. He'd found out what he wanted to know.